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Kirk Cousins is at Atlanta Falcons mandatory minicamp this week despite asking for a trade earlier this offseason.
Cousins, who is in the second year of his four-year, $180 million contract he signed with Atlanta this past offseason, lost his starting quarterback position to rookie Michael Penix Jr. with three weeks left in 2024.
Head coach Raheem Morris’s move to go with his rookie brought about a large question this offseason: Where do the Falcons go at quarterback in 2025?
Cousins addressed his future with the team just weeks away from training camp, and after no trade went down, he’s looking forward to another likely year in Atlanta.
“We’re moving forward, and it’s about how we as a team and as a quarterback room can be the best we can be in 2025,” Cousins told reporters, per CBS Sports.
FALCONS SAY KIRK COUSINS PARTICIPATING IN VOLUNTARY OFFSEASON PROGRAM WAS UNSURPRISING, DESPITE TRADE RUMORS
The Falcons can still trade Cousins, but his words prove that he’s ready to compete with Penix for the starting role once more. But what was considered a mentor-mentee relationship between the two in training camp last season will be much different this time around.
It was clear that Morris and the coaching staff didn’t trust Cousins toward the end of the season, but Penix also didn’t wow anyone to the point where he should be considered the Falcons’ starter going into camp.
He had a 58.1% completion rate in his three starts while throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions over those games. And three games is a cup of coffee compared to what Cousins has been able to do in the league over the last 13 years.
Cousins was coming off a torn Achilles he suffered with the Minnesota Vikings in his 2023 campaign. It put a damper on what he was able to do with the franchise from 2020-22, throwing for over 4,200 yards in each of those three seasons, and he earned two Pro Bowl nods in 2021 and 2022.
But he led the NFL in interceptions in 2024 (16) while only throwing for 18 touchdowns over 14 starts. The Falcons went 7-7 during that time, while Cousins threw for 3,508 yards.
If Penix is the way Atlanta is thinking in terms of a starting quarterback, then paying his backup $27.5 million would be less than ideal. That said, the Falcons would likely be proactive in moving Cousins to not have that cap hit on the books.
That’s easier said than done, but perhaps a season-ending injury for another team during the year could prompt a quick trade.
For now, though, Cousins is focused on helping the Falcons, no matter what role that will be.
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